This invention relates to a balancing arrangement for an internal combustion engine and more particularly to an improved, compact and yet efficient engine balancing arrangement.
As is well known, reciprocating engines provide a number of forces that can give rise to vibration. By appropriately positioning the cylinders and firing order, some of these forces can be balanced However, in certain types of engines and engines having certain numbers of cylinders, not all of the forces can be inherently balanced by the cylinder placement and firing order.
One method of balancing engines and these forces which are not capable of being balanced due to the inherent design of the engine itself employs the use of one or more balancing shafts that contain inertial weights and which are driven by the engine crankshaft. However, for the most part, these prior art constructions have added considerably to the bulk of the engine and also have been difficult to properly position. The location of the axes of rotation of the balance masses has been on a plane that is inclined to the mating plane of the crankcase halves and thus, has put added stress on the crankcase bolts requiring larger, heavier and more expensive bolts.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved balancing shaft arrangement for an internal combustion engine wherein the forces on the engine can be easily balanced, vibrations avoided and the engine still maintains a compact assembly.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified balancing shaft arrangement for an internal combustion engine.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an arrangement for driving a balancing shaft from the engine output shaft and maintaining a compact engine construction.